


Safe For You

by Dkatgal



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Catra as She-Ra, Childhood Trauma, F/F, Horde Adora (She-Ra), Magicatra AU, Rebellion Catra, Shadow Weaver | Light Spinner (She-Ra)'s A+ Parenting, Triggers, catradora
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-12
Updated: 2020-07-12
Packaged: 2021-03-04 18:28:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 14,325
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25220914
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dkatgal/pseuds/Dkatgal
Summary: Magicatra AU"You can come home now Catra,” Adora said, her body shifting slightly, as she tried to lean towards the Magicat.Catra’s vision went black, then red; blood rushing to her head, her pulse pounding as a single horrifying notion raced across her mind.“What did you do?” she whispered.Adora smiled, and Catra recoiled at the sight of blood staining the Horde solder’s teeth.“I made it safe for you.”
Relationships: Adora/Catra (She-Ra), Bow & Catra (She-Ra), Catra & Glimmer (She-Ra)
Comments: 13
Kudos: 391





	Safe For You

**Author's Note:**

> Set in a Magicatra AU. Check out the Magicatra tag on Twitter and Tumblr for some very cool fanart and other fics. 
> 
> **Trigger Warnings for Child Abuse, manipulation and straight up homicide.**
> 
> The basic concept of the Magicatra AU (for anyone who doesn’t know, cos I sure as heck didn’t until a few days ago), is a She-Ra role reversal. I.E. Catra defected from the Horde to join to join the Rebellion as She-Ra, and Adora stayed behind, unable to see the Horde’s evil.  
> I’d read a few fics tagged with Magicatra, and got the basic concept of the AU, and then this idea hit me like a freight train, and the angst was just too delicious. 
> 
> I don’t intend to re-write the entirety of She-Ra, so you may just need to kind of extrapolate a few things just by knowing the basics of the role reversal tropes. 
> 
> Note: Catra becomes She-Ra using a golden mask (like her red mask) instead of a sword.
> 
> Also, I am Australian, so some words have 's' instead of 'z' and 'u' where you may not be used to seeing them.

The tension within the Throne Room of Bright Moon was thick and heavy, a small force of guards stood at attention, their eyes locked on the danger in the room. A line of soldiers stood in front of the Queen, their weapons out, pointing menacingly at the blood-soaked figure who stood shackled before them. 

Queen Angella watched with a wary eye as the enemy stood before them, the Horde soldier’s back ramrod straight, her hands behind her back in a posture that looked as though she’d been borne to it, rather than conforming to the chains that bound her wrists behind her. The red of the soldier’s uniform was spattered in blood, mud and other muck, and discoloured of water from the storm swirling outside dripped from her hair.

“You wanted to see us, Your Majesty?” the Queen’s daughter asked, teleporting into the space with a flash of sparkles. Princess Glimmer was accompanied by her two best friends, Bow (a Master Archer and tech genius) and Catra (a Magicat and the legendary warrior She-Ra). 

The Queen could see the sudden confusion take root on her daughter’s face as her eyes caught sight of the Horde soldier standing in the centre of the Throne Room. 

“Our guards caught this soldier on Bright Moon land. She’s refused to tell us her name,” Queen Angella explained. Her eyes tracked to her daughter’s companion. “Catra, she asked for you.”

Catra took a deep breath and stepped forward cautiously. The Magicat could feel her fur standing on end, confusion taking root. 

“Her name is Adora,” Catra said. “She’s a Major in the Horde Army.”

Glimmer gasped and narrowed her eyes. “The one who -” 

“Yes!” Catra said swiftly, cutting off the Princess. Her tail twitched and caught Adora’s attention. Glassy blue eyes snapped into focus and she stared at Catra like she was the answer to her prayers. 

“What happened to you?” Catra asked, her tone seeming to waver between sympathy and anger. She glanced up at Queen Angella. “Why wouldn’t you take her to the infirmary?” 

“It’s not mine,” Adora said. 

Catra’s head swung back in Adora’s direction, one blue and one yellow eye scanning over her old friend’s face. She could see that Adora was telling the truth. The blood caked over her face didn’t seem to have come from any of her own wounds. 

“What happened? Whose blood is this?” Catra demanded. “Why did you come here?” 

“I came to bring you bring home,” she stated, ignoring Catra’s first two questions. 

“Home?”

“Yes! You can come home now Catra,” Adora said, her body shifting slightly, as she tried to lean towards the Magicat. 

Catra’s vision went black, then red; blood rushing to her head, her pulse pounding as a single horrifying notion raced across her mind. 

“What did you do?” she whispered. 

Adora smiled, and Catra recoiled at the sight of blood staining the solder’s teeth. 

“I made it safe for you.”

~*~

**Six Months Ago**

Catra was laughing, a proper body-shaking, nose-snorting kind of laugh, the kind that she’d not felt inside her since she’d been about seven years old. She rolled in the grass of Thaymor, intoxicated by the power of She-Ra’s Mask (and maybe a little by the wine the locals had plied her with). Glimmer and Bow stared at her in amusement. 

“Are you having fun yet?” Glimmer asked.

Catra rolled onto her back and looked up at the Bright Moon duo. “This has been the best day of my life!” she declared. “Man, these villagers really know how to throw a party!” 

“I’m glad you’re having fun!” Bow said. “See, being friends with us hasn’t been so bad, right?”

“Bow, you have no idea,” she said. “You coulda lured me away just with the food.”

Glimmer and Bow shared a look, silently communicating a victory of successfully recruiting She-Ra for the Rebellion. 

Catra hadn’t removed the golden Mask from her head since the moment she’d found it for a second time. The first time she’d stumbled across the mask, she’d been pulled away by Adora, her best friend insisting that they return to the Fright Zone before anyone discovered they were missing. 

Catra couldn’t resist the lure of the Mask though, returning in the middle of the night and stumbling her way through the Whispering Woods until she’d finally come across the artifact that had seemed to call to her from the moment she’d found it the first time. 

When she’d tried the Mask on, she’d been instantly transformed into a better, faster, more agile version of herself! Her matted mane had grown longer, silky and shiny in a way it had never been before, even her outfit transforming into a sleeveless shirt in a muted red colour, the back of the shirt flaring outwards into a short cape that split around her tail. Flexible pants in a slightly darker red clung to her fur and fell just below her knees, completing the outfit. Catra had never felt better in her life. 

She’d stumbled across Glimmer and Bow shortly after transforming for the first time, and while her Horde training had told her that Princesses were only good for one thing (killing), she also knew that the Horde was absolutely full of it. Besides, if she could capture a Princess to take back to the Horde, she’d be the one getting that stupid Force Captain promotion. Not Adora. 

Catra tried not to scowl at the thought of her friend. 

Shadow Weaver had appointed Adora as a Force Captain, forgoing every single rigorous test that usually came with such a promotion. But of course, Adora was always on the receiving end of special treatment; Adora, the Chosen One, exalted above all others. 

Hah! Not this time. This time, Catra was the special one!

The people of Thaymor had stared at her in awe, having never seen a Magicat before. Small children had approached her, wanting to touch her fur, and while Catra hadn’t been sold on the idea at first, she’d finally let one particularly brave blonde child scratch behind her ears. It had been nice. 

Glimmer and Bow had been generous with their praise as well, particularly when Catra had scampered up a tree to grab one of Bow’s precious arrows that he’d mistakenly fired too high. 

The whole day had been great, people were treating her like she was someone worthy of praise, someone exotic (but in a good way), someone they could admire. 

Not like some sidekick who didn’t know how to behave. 

“So? What do you think? You can come back to Bright Moon with us,” Bow offered. 

Leaving the Horde would be terrifying, of course. Leaving Shadow Weaver, less so. Leaving Adora? Leaving Adora meant that Catra could be the special one for once in her life. She could be the important one, the trusted one, the chosen one. 

Adora could keep Shadow Weaver, and her stupid Force Captain badge. No more telling Catra what to do, how to behave, to be more polite. No more of Adora casting a shadow that was too dark for Catra to stand out from. 

Catra had the Magicat Mask, she had Glimmer and Bow looking at her like she was the best thing since grey ration bars, and she would never need to be second best to Adora ever again. 

“Yeah,” Catra agreed easily. “Maybe on the way there, you can tell me more about what other things you can put in pies?”

And if she’d told a tiny white lie to Glimmer and Bow about where she came from…well, it wasn’t like they’d ever find out the truth.

~*~

**Five Months Ago**

Catra had learned some of the basics of what She-Ra was, and some of the history of her people, who had apparently been called Magicats. Most of the history she’d been able to learn was by word of mouth, which unfortunately was unreliable at best. 

Glimmer’s mother, Queen Angella, had known the leader of the Magicats C’yra, but the last she’d seen her had been nearly two decades ago. The Magicats had disappeared without a trace, and the Horde had destroyed their territory. All that was left was a burned-out forest and whispers of her people being decimated. 

Not for the first time, it had occurred to her to wonder how she’d come to be part of the Horde. Her first memories had been of running down concrete corridors with a small blonde Adora running after her. She remembered nothing before the Horde. Nothing of her people. 

Learning that the Horde had likely killed every other Magicat had been the final nail in the coffin for her ever returning to the Fright Zone. Where she might have considered it for a fleeting moment a month prior, there was no way she’d give up her new life for that one. 

Being part of the Rebellion was way better than being part of the Horde. 

The food might have been the best selling point of the Rebellion. Catra had even told Queen Angella that she’d be able to lure wayward Horde soldiers to their side just by offering them the little jam tarts that were laid out with breakfast every morning. (The Queen had thought she was joking, of course, but Catra was deadly serious. Every morning she left breakfast with a napkin-ful of tarts stashed into one of the pockets of her fancy cape. She’d already grabbed her stash for the day, even though they were only halfway through breakfast.)

And sure, maybe Glimmer was a little too positive and cheerful and optimistic, but there was also a hint of blood-thirsty warrior in there that Catra could get behind. And Bow was just too nice to dislike. Even if he was a little too liberal with the ear scratching sometimes. At least he was good enough not to do it too publicly. And he’d learned to ask first. 

Catra eyed the last scone that was much closer to the Queen than to Catra. Her eye twitched at the thought of asking the Queen to pass it to her. 

Queen Angella was way less terrifying than Shadow Weaver, though that wasn’t exactly hard, asking for something she wanted was still not a natural impulse in Catra’s instincts. 

The Queen had welcomed Catra to Bright Moon, generously offering her safe harbour from the Horde. And that had been before she’d even found out that Catra was the legendary She-Ra. Upon hearing that news, she’d welcomed her to the Rebellion as a Commander, on par with Glimmer, (though Catra, Glimmer and Bow all made up a small unit on their own, so being a Commander was really just a title). 

Still. It was way better than Captain!

Angella was very softly spoken and she always sounded sincere. Her accent spoke of faraway places, though Catra had never actually asked where the Queen was from. No one else in Bright Moon sounded like her.

Catra had come to respect the Queen, and while Catra didn’t quite understand her need to hear the woman say nice things about her after successful missions, the feline woman was always overjoyed at hearing the praise that Angella was rather generous with. 

The first time in her life she’d heard “you did an excellent job” (with no extra qualifiers, like “for someone like you”) had come from Queen Angella. 

It was nice. Having someone say nice things to her. And about her. And not terrorising her, even when Catra had started to push the boundaries a little. Or a lot. At every step, Angella had remained kind…maternal, even. She was way better than Shadow Weaver (suck it, Adora!)

“Would you like the last scone Catra?” Angella asked, holding the plate closer to Catra.

Blue/gold eyes darted upwards to see Angella’s kind expression. She took the plate and murmured “thank you” before slathering the scone with jam and cream and biting viciously into its soft tastiness. 

Angella smiled fondly in her direction and Catra forced herself to take smaller bites. She sub-consciously straightened her posture, mimicking the regal queen. 

The door to the Dining Hall opened and a guard was ushered in. Catra and Glimmer stared at the guard in confusion. Everyone knew breakfast was not to be disturbed. 

“I’m sorry to interrupt Your Majesty,” the guard bowed as they spoke. 

“Carry on.”

“A Horde contingent has been spotted a mile out from the gates. A small force made it through the Woods.”

Glimmer gasped in shock. “That’s impossible! The Woods have never let the Horde through like that before.”

Angella looked calmly at her daughter. “It will be alright Glimmer. We’ll send out a contingent of soldiers, and we’ll drive them back.”

“Catra and I are going too!” 

“We are?” Catra asked. Glimmer shot her a fierce glare and she held up her hands in surrender. “Right, sure, of course we are.”

\--------

Glimmer had teleported to fetch Bow, and the trio of Rebels made their way quietly through the woods. 

“How could the Horde have got all the way through the Woods?” Bow asked curiously. “Even we sometimes can’t find our way out.”

“I don’t know Bow. But if the Woods are turning on us, we’ll lose our best advantage,” Glimmer said.

“Wait, turning on you? You’re talking like the Woods are smart, or something,” Catra said.

“Well, they are,” Bow answered. “Whenever we get lost in the Woods, it’s always because they want to show us something. Like the time we met you after you escaped from the Horde.”

“Or the time you met Madame Razz, and she told you about She-Ra,” Glimmer continued. 

“Or the time Glimmer ran away from Bright Moon and ended up at my place,” Bow said. “The Woods direct people to where they need to get to. But it’s never let the Horde get anywhere near us before.” 

Catra felt a spike of anxiety race through her, though she wasn’t entirely sure what had caused it. She’d run into plenty of Horde soldiers since joining the Rebellion, and never once come across anyone she’d known. The Horde was massive, of course, and it wasn’t like anyone would have ever bothered to look for her. Shadow Weaver was probably thrilled that she was gone. Her squad would have been glad to see the back of her. And Adora was likely too busy excelling in her role as Force Captain to have even noticed that Catra had left. 

The humming of a machine came to life, getting closer to the trio. Catra scampered up a tree, and Glimmer grabbed Bow to teleport them up into a branch just below the Magicat. Catra’s heart sank as she recognised all four of the soldiers.

“How’d you get us this far in?” Catra recognised Lonnie’s voice, and her ears flattened against her head. 

“I dunno, I’ve been getting closer and closer to Bright Moon the last few times I tried. But anytime I try and bring a larger squad I just get turned around again. I figured bringing you three might give me a fighting chance at finding her.” 

Catra’s tail twitched, and her heart raced with pure adrenaline. 

“I’ll take the blonde, you take the other three,” Catra directed to Bow and Glimmer. 

The duo nodded, and Bow quickly pulled and arrow from his quacking, nocking it and taking aim. Her fired expertly into the control console of the skiff, knocking the electronics offline and sending the skiff crashing to the dirt. 

Moments later, the shaking Horde soldiers were staggering to their feet, disoriented but attempting to be alert, realising they’d flown straight into an ambush. 

Adora staggered away from the wreckage and Catra timed her jump perfectly, landing at just the right angle to send both Adora and herself tumbling down a small hill and away from the Horde squadron and the two Rebels. 

As they came sliding to a halt at the bottom of the hill, Catra grabbed Adora by the shirt and hauled her against a tree, hiding them out of immediate sight. 

“Catra!” Adora cried. “I found you! You look…different.” 

“You…you were looking for me?” 

Adora stared at her in confusion. “Of course I was. I’ve been looking for you for weeks! Where have you been?”

“I –” Catra stuttered to a pause. “It wasn’t safe for me in the Horde anymore.”

Adora’s head tilted to the side, confusion evident on every inch of her face.

“What do you mean?” she asked.

“What d’you mean, what do I mean? Adora, you had to have noticed that Shadow Weaver had it out for me,” Catra said.

“Oh. Yeah, she did not want to let me come looking for you,” Adora said sheepishly. 

Catra couldn’t help but be stunned. “She actually let you look for me?”

“Uh…not technically,” Adora admitted. “I might have sort of told her that I was gathering intel on the Glitter Princess.”

“Glimmer,” Catra corrected her, though the moment the word left her mouth, she wanted to yank it back. 

“What?” 

“Nothing,” Catra said, hoping to use Adora’s general dumbassery to her advantage. “Listen, you can’t say anything to Shadow Weaver about finding me. She’d kill me if she found out.”

“I – yeah, I guess. I’m just so grateful I found you!” Adora exclaimed. “Are you okay? What have you been doing this whole time? And why does your fur look all shiny like that?” 

“I…I’m okay,” Catra said. She searched for something that she could say that wasn’t ‘I joined the Rebellion’. “I’ve been trying to find out about my family.”

Adora’s entire face softened, and Catra knew she’d said exactly the right thing to get Adora onside. It had been a common topic of conversation during their teenage years, the thought of finally discovering the truth about their pasts. They’d made up stories about each others families enough over the years for Catra to know that Adora would inherently understand her desire to find out more if she was ever presented with the chance.

“What did you find?” Adora asked.

“I found someone who knew my people,” Catra said. “They’re trying to help me learn more.”

“That’s amazing,” Adora said softly. 

“Adora, I can’t come back yet. It isn’t safe for me there. And I need to find out what happened to my family,” Catra said. 

Adora nodded. “I get it,” she said. “I wish I could help you find out about them.” 

Catra wondered for a brief moment what Adora would say if she were to ask the blonde to come with her. Defect from the Horde, join the Rebellion. Would she say yes? And, more importantly, did Catra even want her to?

Being away from the Horde, and out of Adora’s shadow was exhilarating. She’d spent sixteen or so years trying to prove that she was every bit as good as Adora, and no one had ever seen it. Her best friend and sometimes bitter rival, though Adora never seemed to pick up on how bitterly Catra had begun to see her. With every scathing word from Shadow Weaver to Catra, or every word of praise to Adora, Catra had felt herself forgetting every good part of being friends with Adora.

If she asked Adora to come with her to Bright Moon, would the same thing happen again? Would Queen Angella cast her aside in favour of Adora?

Catra’s heart clenched, and she closed her eyes fighting against the dark spots that threatened to overwhelm her senses. She took a deep breath and opened her eyes to clearer vision.

“What can I do to help?” Adora asked.

“Keep Shadow Weaver off my tail,” Catra said. “I know you can’t lie for shit, but Adora, she cannot find out that you saw me.”

Adora nodded seriously, her blue eyes shimmering with tears. “I’ll keep you safe. I promise.”

Catra wavered once more. They’d made that promise to each other time and time again as kids. 

But Adora was safe in the Horde, Catra justified. She’d always been favoured by Shadow Weaver above all others. The sorceress would never hurt a hair on Adora’s perfect golden head, too enamoured by the perfect soldier she’d raised. 

No, just this once…just this once, Catra would get to be special one. She didn’t have to share the spotlight with Adora anymore. They could go their separate ways, and things would be fine. Adora wouldn’t come looking for her again, and Catra could enjoy her newfound freedom and fame. 

“You can’t tell the others you saw me either,” Catra said. 

“I know,” Adora said. “I won’t say anything. And hey…it’s nice to see you again. Even if you do look kind of different.”

Catra looked down at herself, transformed by the Mask of She-Ra. 

“Yeah, it’s uh…it’s a new look.”

Adora smiled and reached out to touch Catra’s cheek softly. “I like it.”

~*~

**Two Weeks Ago**

Catra never would have admitted it in a million years, but this whole Princess Prom thing was actually kind of…fun.

Sure, she and Princess Frosta had kind of got off to a wrong start, but the music was good, the food was great, and getting to see a bunch of the Princesses that she’d helped bring into the Alliance was pretty sweet too. Mermista had been providing a very dry running commentary of all the different guests as they’d walked by, keeping Catra thoroughly entertained. 

“And that’s Princess Scorpia,” Mermista nodded at the buff woman with giant red pincers instead of hands and a scorpion tail swinging wildly behind her. “I guess she’s still a Princess even though she’s a Horde soldier, or whatever.”

Catra stiffened and looked closer at the scorpion woman. Catra had never seen her before, and she assumed she’d remember meeting such a unique individual. 

“Also, I’m pretty sure her Plus One is definitely a Horde soldier as well. But that could just be because she’s, like, in uniform.”

Catra felt her breath catch in her throat as she laid eyes on Adora in the full dress uniform of the Horde. It was rare to see anyone wearing it and seeing Adora in it was jarring. 

The jacket was a deep red, and there were shiny medals displayed on the left breast of the jacket. The high rounded collar bore twin gold stripes, and there was a golden braided lanyard looping Adora’s right shoulder. 

While Catra wasn’t used to seeing the dress uniforms, she knew that this was the uniform of a Major, not a Captain. 

Glimmer and Bow had also spotted Scorpia and her Plus One and had made their way to Catra, pulling her out of immediate view from the dance floor where Adora had started leading Scorpia through a series of complicated steps. 

“Who let the Horde scum in?!” Glimmer demanded.

“Pretty sure they were invited, but what do I know?” Mermista replied dryly. 

“Invited?!” Glimmer screeched. 

“All the Princesses are always invited,” Bow reminded her. “No matter what the circumstances are. And Scorpia is still a Princess.” 

“They’re up to something,” Glimmer decided. “There’s no way they’re not going to try some underhanded move to try and get to us.” 

“Or, and just hear me out, or they could be here for the same reason we are,” Bow said, ever the voice of reason. “You know, to have fun, and see our friends.”

“Like they even have friends here?” Glimmer asked. 

Catra shifted her focus to the dance floor, where it seemed the routine had called for a switch in partners. Adora was dancing with Princess Perfuma, and the princess seemed to be blushing and smiling, her fingers gently stroking the outline of one of Adora’s medals. Catra glared. 

“Looks like they’re making friends,” she growled. 

Glimmer’s jaw dropped in dismay. “Perfuma!”

Catra and Glimmer both watched in horror as Adora suddenly dipped Princess Perfuma dramatically before smoothly bringing her up and twirling the woman to her next partner. Perfuma blew a kiss to Adora who smoothly bowed and winked at the Princess. 

At least Adora’s next partner was Netossa, who would have zero interest in being charmed by a buff blonde in a uniform. 

“We have to do something,” Glimmer said. 

“Like what?” Bow asked. “Princess Prom is neutral ground. No weapons, no plots, just good food and good company.” 

“I need to talk to Princess Frosta,” Glimmer said. She grabbed Bow by the arm and started dragging him across the room. 

Catra watched her go and just shrugged at Mermista. “I’m gonna find a restroom,” Catra excused herself. 

Mermista waved her away, and Catra made her way through the crowd and hid at the edge of the dance floor. As the music called for a swap in partners again, Catra shoved the man she’d been hiding behind onto the dance floor, causing him to crash into the woman who’d been about to join Adora. Catra grabbed the soldier’s hand and yanked her from the dance floor, weaving them through the crowd until they were outside on a balcony.

“Catra?! What are you doing here?” Adora asked, eyebrows furrowed.

“What am I doing here, what are you doing here?” Catra demanded. 

Adora looked like a confused puppy being scolded. “I came with Scorpia. She’s a Force Captain in my regiment, and technically the Princess of the Fright Zone.”

“The Fright Zone has a Princess?!” Catra was stunned. “Wait, that doesn’t matter. What are you planning?” 

“What do you mean?” 

“Well, you and Scorpia didn’t just come here to dance,” Catra said. “Shadow Weaver would never have allowed it, unless there was some plot or some plan.”

Adora shook her head. “I’ll admit that there is a plan, but it’s nothing violent. Scorpia and I are here under the terms of the Princess Prom, and we’re not about to break the terms of a parley.” 

“Are you serious right now?” Catra demanded. 

“Of course I am,” Adora said earnestly. “Why would I lie to you?” 

Catra took a breath and released it. Why would Adora lie to her? It wasn’t like Adora even knew that Catra had joined the Rebellion, that minor piece of her story had been kept a secret the last time they’d met. As far as Adora knew, Catra had left in search for information about her family and was waiting for the right time to return home to the Fright Zone. 

“N-no reason,” Catra said. “I guess I just worried that there were more Horde soldiers hiding out somewhere. You know it’s not safe for me there.”

Adora’s face drooped sadly. “I’m sorry Catra. If I’d known you’d be here, I’d never have suggested this. But…why are you here?”

“I…I heard that there’s a Princess with the gift of fortune telling who was meant to be here,” Catra made up. “I figured she might know something about my family.”

“You still haven’t found anything new?” Adora asked.

Catra shook her head. No, nothing new had come her way since she’d last seen Adora a few months ago. All signs were still pointing to her people having been killed by the Horde, which is everything she’d know the last time she and Adora had spoken in the Whispering Woods. 

“Catra…if there’s anything I can do that could help you -”

“I know,” Catra cut her off before Adora could make any vague promises. 

“Have you been staying here? I mean, in the Kingdom of Snows?” Adora asked.

Catra hesitated a little before finally answering. “No. I’ve been staying in Bright Moon. I – I made a friend.”

“Yeah?” Adora asked, smiling softly. She knew how hard Catra found it to make friends. 

“I made a few friends actually. I really like it there. I – I feel safe there,” Catra admitted.

“I‘m glad you’re safe,” Adora said, taking Catra’s hand in her own. Adora took a step closer and Catra looked up at her friend who was suddenly very, very close. Had Adora’s eyes always been this blue? 

“I’m sorry I couldn’t keep you safe,” Adora whispered. 

Catra felt tears prick at the corners of her eyes and she rapidly blinked them away. 

Adora pulled Catra closer, resting her head against Catra’s, their noses touching. Adora closed her eyes and breathed deeply. 

“I’m sorry I couldn’t stop Shadow Weaver from hurting you.” 

“A-Adora?”

“I’m sorry I couldn’t stop Lonnie from teasing you. I’m sorry I couldn’t see before how much they were hurting you.”

Catra bit her lip trying to hold back a sob. She felt like she’d been waiting years for Adora to say these words. 

“Catra?” 

“Yeah?”

“Will you come home when it’s safe?” 

…

“Yes,” Catra breathed, her voice shaking. Adora was so close, and it was so nice to be held by her. Safe and together. 

“Do you promise?”

“I promise.”

~*~

**Ten Seconds Ago**

“What happened? Whose blood is this?” Catra demanded. “Why did you come here?” 

“I came to bring you bring home,” she stated, ignoring Catra’s first two questions. 

“Home?”

“Yes! You can come home now Catra,” Adora said, her body shifting slightly, as she tried to lean towards the Magicat. 

Catra’s vision went black, then red; blood rushing to her head, her pulse pounding as a single horrifying notion raced across her mind. 

“What did you do?” she whispered. 

Adora smiled, and Catra recoiled at the sight of blood staining the solder’s teeth. 

“I made it safe for you.”

“Adora, you need to tell me right now, whose blood is this?” 

“She hurt you,” Adora said softly. “She wasn’t even sorry about it.” 

Bile, bitter and disgusting, rose in Catra’s throat. “Shadow Weaver.” 

“There’s a data cube in my pocket,” Adora said, jiggling her left leg to indicate which pocket. “I found some files on the Magicats from Hordak’s servers.”

“How did you get into Hordak’s servers?” 

Adora’s smile turned feral. “He hurt your family.”

Catra pulled back from Adora, the data cube in her hand. 

“Did you kill them, Adora? Shadow Weaver and Hordak?” 

“You weren’t safe. I made it safe for you. So, you can come home now.” 

Catra shook her head slowly. “I’m sorry Adora. I’m so sorry.”

Adora looked at her in confusion. 

“I’m not going back there,” Catra said trying to be gentle. “I can’t.”

Adora’s eyes scrunched together, unable to comprehend what Catra was saying. 

“No, you said… _you said_ that you would come home when it was safe! I made it safe!”

“I’m sorry,” Catra repeated softly, trying desperately not to cry. 

“I don’t understand,” Adora said. “I made it safe for you!” 

Catra didn’t know what to say. She didn’t think there was anything she could say that would make any of this okay. 

She ran her hand across Adora’s cheek, some of the drying blood smearing across Adora’s face. “I should have told you the truth.”

“I don’t know what you mean Catra, please, please, tell me what you mean.”

“I ran away from the Horde. I liked being away from them,” Catra admitted. This next part was the hardest, most awful thing she’d ever have to say. “I liked being away from you.” 

Adora looked at her like Catra had just stabbed her in the heart. “I –“ 

“I’m sorry Adora.”

Adora’s legs buckled and she collapsed to her knees, her breathing sharp and ragged. She bent over at the waist struggling to draw breath, almost toppling to the ground with her hands awkwardly bound behind her back. 

“Adora?!”

“Everyone get out!” Angella’s voice cut over the room, and the guards quickly obeyed, leaving Angella, Glimmer, Bow and Catra with a hyperventilating soldier. 

Angella knelt gracefully at Adora’s side, releasing the bindings on Adora’s wrists, and Catra watched in fear as Adora clumsily got her hands underneath her. 

“You need to breath Major. I know it’s hard, but I need you to look around the room. Tell me five things you can see,” Angella coaxed Adora. 

Adora’s glassy eyes glanced around the room, and she blinked rapidly trying to regain focus. She was so used to obeying orders that it never even occurred to her to disobey the Queen. “Your throne, a spear, a cup, a table –“ 

“One more,” Angella instructed. 

“Your wings,” Adora choked.

“That’s good, now, tell me four things you can hear.”

Adora sucked in a short breath and clenched her fists. “The rain on the window, Catra’s tail hitting the ground, the guards outside, the Princess’s feet shuffling.”

“You’re doing very well, Major,” Angella said softly, placing a hand on Adora’s back and rubbing in small circles. “Tell me three things you can touch.”

“M-my uniform, the ground, your hand,” Adora panted, her breathing seeming to come a little easier with every second that passed. 

“Two things you can smell,” Angella directed. 

“Y-your perfume,” Adora said, breathing in the scent of lavender. “Catra’s feet.”

Catra shuffled backwards a little, embarrassed. 

“I do keep trying to get her to wear shoes, but alas,” Angella teased softly. “One thing you can taste Adora.”

Adora’s breathing was nearly back to normal. She looked up at the queen. “Please don’t make say it.” 

Angella nodded and touched her hands to Adora’s blood-soaked face. “Let’s get you cleaned up. And then we can discuss what comes next.” 

Adora accepted Angella’s help to get to ger feet and Catra could only stare helplessly as she watched her friend (?) be escorted from the room. 

“I think I made a huge mistake,” Catra whimpered. 

~*~

Adora felt numb as two attendants helped her out of the filthy bath water and wrapped soft towels around her. The two servant women carefully dried her and helped her into a pair of soft blue trousers and a pale grey shirt. She stared at herself in the mirror for a moment, trying to find the energy required to pull her hair into its regular ponytail. The idea of even lifting her arms right now made her want curl into a ball. She left her hair down and allowed herself to be escorted back to the Throne Room.

Except, they walked past the Throne Room, and into a smaller room with plush sofas, Catra curled up with a pillow cuddled to her chest, Bow sitting beside her, his hands wrapped around his weapon. Queen Angella and Princess Glimmer shared a two-seater sofa and sitting vacant was a comfortable looking couch with a fluffy blue cushion on it. 

Angella gestured for Adora to take a seat, and the soldier carefully sat at the edge of the sofa, holding herself upright. 

“I understand that this will be difficult, but I want you to tell us what happened,” Angella said. “But perhaps you could start with an introduction.”

Adora glanced at Catra, but the feline woman refused to meet her eyes. The solder took in a shaky breath and met Angella’s eyes.

“My name is Adora. I’m a Major in the Horde Army.”

“Major Adora. I am Queen Angella. This is my daughter Princess Glimmer. This is Master Archer Bow. And I believe you already know Commander Catra,” Angella said. 

Adora nodded a stiff greeting to Glimmer and Bow, unsure why they were in the room, but certainly not about to question the Queen of Bright Moon. 

“How old are you Adora?” Angella asked curiously. 

“I – I don’t know exactly. We think about eighteen,” Adora said. 

“We?”

“Catra and I,” Adora said. “As far as we can figure, we’re both about eighteen.”

“And how did you come to join the Horde Army?” 

Adora’s head tilted to the side, as though that were the strangest question she could have been asked. 

“They raised us,” Adora said. “From the time we were infants.”

Glimmer’s voice was strangled as she repeated “Us?”

“Catra and I,” Adora replied. 

Bow and Glimmer turned to look at Catra who was very deliberately not looking at anyone in the room. That little white lie she’d told them, the one she’d been so certain would never be revealed was finally coming back to haunt her. 

“You said you were an escaped Horde prisoner,” Glimmer said. 

“And I was,” Catra said. “If you think I was there by choice, you’ve got another thing coming.” 

“But you were a _soldier_ ,” Glimmer said.

“I was a cadet,” Catra corrected her. “I left before we ever got assigned any missions.”

“Why didn’t you tell us?” Bow asked sadly. 

Catra looked decidedly uncomfortable. “Look, it’s not a big deal, just…when I met you two, you were very ‘Horde bad, Rebellion good’ and I didn’t want to do anything that would risk my chance at getting out of there. You and Glimmer were my best bet of getting somewhere far away from the Horde.”

Glimmer wondered if her friend had lied about anything else. This seemed like a rather substantial stretching of the truth. 

“So, you and Catra were raised by the Horde to become soldiers. You’re awfully young to be a Major, how did you manage to achieve such a high rank?” Angella redirected the focus.

“I was promoted to Force Captain about six months ago. I finished cadet training with high scores in all fields, and our commanding officer gave me a field promotion to Captain. I was given command of a squadron, and we were tasked with holding territory to the south of Salineas and gathering intel on the Capital. Three weeks ago, I was promoted to Major after I provided Lord Hordak with a plan for how to take Salineas, with the caveat that if the plan fails, I’ll be demoted.”

Glimmer gaped at the woman relaying her story so calmly. 

“What happened this evening? Something must have changed,” Angella prompted. 

Adora looked at Catra and sighed sadly. 

“Catra said that she wanted to find her family. And I figured Lord Hordak’s been around for a while now, if anyone was going to know about the Magicats, it was him. As a Major I was given access to a lot of files but the one on Magicats was restricted to a higher level than mine. I figured my best chance at finding out was to try accessing it from Hordak’s private lab. He’s surprisingly lax about security.”

“You’d have to be crazy to try breaking into his labs in the first place,” Catra said. “That’s usually security enough.” 

Adora shrugged. “I just made sure that he’d left, and I broke in. I found the files on the Magicats.”

“What did you find?” Catra asked hesitantly. 

“Hordak had planned an invasion to the Magicat territory about 15 years ago. When the troops rolled through the area, it was already empty. They’d vanished. The Horde burned down the forest to make it look like the Horde had killed them. I guess to serve as a lesson to anyone else who tried to stand in his way.”

“Nothing on where they could have gone?” 

“A few other forests were burned down over the years,” Adora said. “But I think the only Magicat the Horde’s seen since then is you.” 

Catra sighed, thankful that at least there was no hard evidence of her people being killed. Of course, it meant she was exactly where she’d started when it came to trying to find her family. 

“What happened then? With Hordak?” 

~*~

**Six Hours Ago**

Adora couldn’t believe what she was seeing. Everything she’d found on the Magicats, _Catra’s people_ , showed that Hordak had been planning their complete extinction. Everything indicated that the Magicats were a peaceful people, only fighting when provoked. And the Horde had provoked them. 

It didn’t make sense to Adora. The Magicats didn’t have a Princess, they didn’t have a connection to any of the Elemental Runestones, and their territory was no where near the main Horde base. The plan to destroy the Magicats made no sense tactically. 

It had been getting clearer and clearer to Adora that the Horde was not what she’d been told. Her entire life, her instructors had drilled into her and her fellow cadets that the Horde was attempting to unite Etheria under one banner, to ensure peace and prosperity for all. Except, at every turn, Adora was seeing for herself more and more evidence piling up to the contrary. 

One of the villages she’d been tasked at over-throwing hadn’t had any defence whatsoever. The battle had been over within minutes, the townsfolk begging to surrender, pleading for their lives. The mission brief had said these people were a well-trained militia with a stockpile of weapons. Adora hadn’t found any weapons. What she’d found was a town that stood directly between the Horde and one of their allies in a supply chain. That was its only advantage, and one that the Horde had wanted to exploit. And Adora had believed every word of it until she’d seen frightened children cowering away from her. 

That had been two days ago and what had prompted her to take such a drastic measure of breaking into Hordak’s private sanctum. She’d searched the terminals for information she had access to, and even that had painted a horrifying picture. 

But she hadn’t found information on Catra’s people. 

As a newly promoted Major, she had much more authority on personnel assignments, and she’d moved around several soldiers to ensure that Hordak’s sanctum had minimal security for an hour-long period. Hordak was surprisingly predictable for (she suspected) an evil dictator. He had a schedule which he kept to every day. All Adora had needed to do was wait for the perfect moment. Hordak had left, there was only one guard on shift who was walking the corridor to stay awake. All she’d needed to do was time it perfectly. 

She’d brought a data cube with her, connecting it to the terminal and downloading everything she could on the Magicats. And on Bright Moon. And on Salineas. Dryl. Plumeria. The Fright Zone. There was even a file about herself that she managed to find. 

As the data was transferring to the cube, Adora lost track of time. 

“What do you think you are doing?!” 

Adora jumped away from the terminal, her hand instinctively finding her weapon, a retractable stunning staff. 

“L-lord Hordak.”

“If you think for one moment that I am going to allow you to walk out of here alive –“ 

“I came to find the truth,” Adora said defiantly. 

Hordak scoffed. “What truth?”

“About the Horde. About what we really are.”

The man chortled softly. “Oh Major, every soldier comes to learn the truth eventually. It just doesn’t usually take them this long. Shadow Weaver truly did wrap you around her little finger, didn’t she?”

Adora narrowed her eyes at the mention of her mentor. 

“Oh child, did you really believe that drivel they fed to you?”

“You don’t care about uniting Etheria! You don’t care about helping people!” Adora accused.

“I tire of your inane prattling,” Hordak said. “Now come here and take your punishment!”

With a flick of her wrist, Adora’s staff extended to it full length. Adora’s thumb hit the charge button, and an electrical crackling shot down its length. 

“You think you can defeat me?” Hordak asked disdainfully. “Guards!” 

Adora smiled. “You didn’t even notice they were gone, did you? So set in your ways, so secure in the knowledge that we would be too scared to defy you. Well I’m not scared of you. And I’m not going to let you hurt any other Etherians.”

Hordak growled menacingly and lunged for her. Adora was quick and nimble, smaller than Hordak and not weighed down by the likes of Hordak’s bulky armour. She darted under his outstretched hand and brought her staff around to smash over the back of Hordak’s head. 

He stumbled forwards, then regained his balance. Adora disabled the electrical charge on her staff momentarily as she used it like a pole vault, and leapt at him, both her feet crashing into Hordak’s chest, sending him crashing backwards into the terminal behind him. Adora was on him in an instant, bring her staff across his chest and pushing down. 

Hordak’s fist crashed into Adora’s face, sending her tumbling away, spilling to the ground. Hordak stood above her, staring down with a sneer on his face. 

“You will serve as a reminder to the Horde that disobedience will not be tolerated!” 

Adora’s leg snapped to the side, catching Hordak’s knees, sweeping him from his feet. The metal of his armour crashed loudly against the floor, and Adora was suddenly on top of him, pressing the tip of her staff to the centre of his armour. 

Hordak tried to move, but Adora leant her full weight down on the staff. 

“You will not get away with this!” 

Adora’s thumb hit the charge button, releasing a single burst of electricity through her staff and into Hordak’s armour. He seized violently. Within moments he was yelling out more threats. 

Adora hit the switch again.

Hordak lay panting on the ground. Adora stared down at him. 

“Tell me about the Magicats.”

“What?!”

_Zap._

“The Magicats!”

Hordak looked disgusted as he choked out an answer. “They disappeared years ago; I don’t know anything about them.”

“Why did you want to destroy them? Why did you burn down their forest?” 

“What do you care?” Hordak demanded. 

“You took my friend’s family away from her, I want to know what happened,” Adora said slowly, deliberately. 

Hordak’s eyes narrowed. “You would betray me over some feral creatures who didn’t have the sense to surrender to the Horde.”

“Tell me what you wanted with them!” 

“Nothing!” Hordak yelled. “I wanted nothing. They were in my way and so they needed to be removed. Like so many other wretched creatures of this backwards planet, they stood in my way, and so I wanted them gone.”

“And Catra? Why did you take her?” 

“Who?”

Adora stared at him in disgust. He didn’t even know his own soldiers. “My friend. She’s a Magicat. Where did you take her from?”

Hordak scoffed. “I never had anything to do with finding recruits, why on Etheria would I know or care where she came from. And if she’s inspired you to betrayal then I’ll find her and kill her after I’m finished with you.”

The Major took slow shallow breaths as she stared at the man below her. 

Everything she’d fought for had been a lie. The Horde was serving a man who didn’t deserve their trust or their loyalty. They were meant to be saving Etheria, and instead they were the ones destroying it. 

_He_ was the one destroying it. 

Adora’s thumb once more found the switch to the electrical charge of her staff. She cranked it to its highest setting and watched as Hordak flailed. She felt nothing but bone deep satisfaction when his body lay limp below her. 

Adora grabbed a razor thin wire from a nearby work bench and wrapped it around Hordak’s neck, pulling tightly. 

The Horde had trained her to never leave an enemy alive after all. 

~*~

Catra stared at her friend in stunned silence, trying to reconcile the idea of Adora taking down Hordak on her own. 

“You were trying to find out about my family? About me?” she asked quietly. 

Adora stared at her, eyes wide and wounded. “You said you wanted to find them.”

“I – I do,” Catra replied, knowing any other answer would send Adora spiralling. 

Glimmer was trying not to jump in and ask a million questions for her friend, still uncertain about Catra’s true backstory. All Catra had been willing to say was that she’d been a prisoner who had escaped and was on the run from the Horde. That they would kill her if they found her. That if the Horde got their hands on She-Ra, it would end badly for everyone. 

“I can’t believe Hordak’s really dead,” Bow murmured. “It seems impossible.” 

“You mentioned that you’d started to question the motives of the Horde,” Queen Angella said. “That they were not what you believed them to be.”

Adora’ looked down at her hands. “No, they weren’t.”

“Tell me what you thought they were,” the Queen instructed. 

“We were meant to be protecting Etheria,” Adora said quietly. “Not destroying it. It makes me sick I had any part in it.” 

Catra’s eyes closed, feeling sick with shame. 

“That’s what they told us, growing up,” Catra explained. “That the Horde was bringing peace, uniting Etheria under one banner. That the Princesses were selfish and power hungry. That they couldn’t bring themselves to share resources with the rest of Etheria, which is why its people aren’t united.”

Glimmer and Angella looked horrified. 

“You believed that?” Glimmer asked.

“We were kids, Glimmer,” Catra reminder her. “We would have believed anything they told us. By the time we were old enough to start questioning anything, we had nowhere else to go, no place safe we could run to. The Horde was all we knew.”

“You knew what it was?” Adora asked, looking up at her friend. 

Catra looked away awkwardly. “Yeah.”

“Oh.”

Queen Angella stood and made her way across the room to a wet bar, pouring two fingers of stiff Salinch into a tumbler. She made her way to Adora and pressed the glass into her hands. 

“Drink,” she ordered.

Adora didn’t dare question it and downed the drink in three large gulps. Her whole body shivered as a feeling of warmth ran through her. Angella took the glass and replaced it back at the bar before taking her seat beside her daughter once more. 

“We can take a break if you like,” the Queen offered.

Adora shook her head, feeling slightly dizzy. “No, I’m okay.”

“Then, when you’re ready, tell us about Shadow Weaver.” 

~*~

**Four Hours Ago**

Adora hadn’t made plans to confront Shadow Weaver, but with everything that had happened with Hordak, she felt she had no choice. 

Shadow Weaver had practically raised Adora and Catra both, and she’d known that the Horde was not what it said it was. Hordak had even commented about Shadow Weaver manipulating Adora all this time. It hurt to think that someone she trusted had kept quiet about everything Adora believed in. 

Keeping to the shadows, Adora made her way to the chamber where the Black Garnet was kept. While Shadow Weaver didn’t follow as strict a schedule as Hordak did had, there was a better than average chance of finding her with the dark Runestone.

Her luck held, and Shadow Weaver was conducting some sort of ritual with the stone. Adora slipped quietly into the chamber, locking the doors behind her. She ran a hand over the Runsetone, surprised as ever by its warmth. 

After a moment she pulled back from the Stone and watched. 

Shadow Weaver seemed to be frustrated by something, muttering to herself as she paced around the chamber. 

Adora wasn’t sure what tipped the woman off, but she suddenly stopped her pacing and looked frantically around the room. 

“I know you’re here,” her silky voice whispered from around the shadows. “You can’t hide in the shadows from me.” 

Adora stepped into the dim red light that shone from the Stone. 

“Adora,” Shadow Weaver’s tone changed from dark and menacing, to concerned and parental. “What have I told you about skulking around my chambers?” 

“I’ve started taking everything you say as the lie it is,” Adora said.

If it was possible for Shadow Weaver to look stunned, it happened then and there at Adora’s dark words. 

“What are you talking about Adora? I’d never lie to you.”

Adora shook her head, eyes narrowing. “I feel like you’ve never told me the truth even once my whole life.” 

“Tell me what’s brought this on Adora,” Shadow Weaver said, her voice remaining even and coaxing. 

“I know what the Horde is. I know that Hordak was trying to take over the planet. I know that you had something to do with Catra being taken from her family,” she listed. 

Shadow Weaver huffed in exasperation. “Catra is no longer someone to be concerned about Adora. I had nothing to do with her disappearance, though I can’t say that I’m upset by it. She always did distract you.” 

“She isn’t a distraction, she’s my friend!” Adora yelled. 

“She held you back at every turn,” Shadow Weaver replied. “You were always destined for greatness Adora, as your promotion to Major can attest to. Less than six months, and already you are the youngest Major in the history of the Horde. You would have graduated from being a cadet early had you applied yourself more fervently.” 

“Catra never held me back. And I’m not talking about her disappearing from the Horde, I’m asking about how she came to the Horde in the first place. Why did you take her from her family?”

Shadow Weaver turned away, annoyed at Adora’s questioning. 

“I didn’t take her from anything,” Shadow Weaver replied. “She was found abandoned in the Crimson Waste. We only took her in to fill the ranks of our recruits.”

“That’s a lie!” Adora accused. 

“Adora, why would I like to you about Catra of all creatures?” 

“You never liked her.”

“No, I never did,” Shadow Weaver affirmed. “She was unruly and undisciplined. I’m just glad she disappeared before she could ruin you more than she already did. Now if you don’t stop misbehaving, I will be forced to report you to Hordak for insubordination.”

Adora couldn’t help but laugh darkly at that threat. “Hordak’s not in charge anymore.” 

Shadow Weaver spun in place, alarmed at Adora’s suddenly menacing words. She stared the girl, cast in red shadows, her eyes looking manic. Shadow Weaver had never seen this kind of look in her eyes, even on that first night that Catra had gone missing. 

“What have you done?” 

Adora took another step away from the Stone, and white light hit her skin. Her hands were covered in deep red blood, her uniform splattered with it as well. 

“You –“

“Never leave an enemy alive,” Adora said, imitating Shadow Weaver’s voice and words. 

“I’m not your enemy,” Shadow Weaver reminded her. 

“No?” 

“I raised you to be great, to lead the Horde to victory!” 

“And I will do exactly that,” Adora said. “But Hordak was an enemy to the Horde. Hordak did not embrace the mission of uniting Etheria under one banner. Hordak needed to be removed so Etheria can be united. The Horde will be what we were told it was, and I intend to make that happen.”

“You can’t do that on your own,” Shadow Weaver said slyly. 

“I won’t be on my own.”

The shadow-mage was relieved to hear that Adora was at least pragmatic enough to realise her inability to rule alone. That relief was sadly short-lived.

“When Catra comes home, she and I will lead together.”

Shadow Weaver laughed heartily. “Catra? That mangy creature is dead Adora! When will you understand that?”

“She isn’t dead,” Adora replied calmly. “I saw her two weeks ago. And a few months before that.”

“And you didn’t report that to me?” 

“What would you have done if I had?” Adora asked.

“I’d have found the little rat and strangled her myself!” Shadow Weaver yelled. 

Adora sighed softly. “She said she wasn’t safe here. And she was right.”

Shadow Weaver took a deep breath, trying to calm her anger. “Adora, you must realise by now that I’m only trying to ensure that you succeed.”

The soldier felt her hand twitch at her side, her retracted staff gently hitting her thigh with the movement. 

“Like when I ran a course two milliseconds slower than Lonnie, you made me run it again four times in one night until I could beat her time, even though I was exhausted,” Adora remembered. “Or when it was Kyle’s turn to lead the squad through a mission, and it ran over time by forty-five seconds, and you made me run it solo.”

“Adora, that was for your own good, you know that.”

“Or when you told me that if I didn’t get the highest score during our final exams, you’d ‘remove the distractions from my life’,” Adora spat. “You were talking about Catra.”

“You’re only proving my point right now Adora,” Shadow Weaver said. “Even now, after she’s defected from the Horde, she still distracts you.” 

“She didn’t defect! She ran from you because she wasn’t safe here! I thought she was over-reacting at first, but now I know that she wasn’t.”

“And what do you intend to do now Adora?”

Adora narrowed her eyes and pulled a datapad out of her jacket pocket. “I intend to make it safe for her.” 

At the push of a button on the datapad, the small transponder she’d attached to the Runestone moments ago activated, creating an electric field over the Stone. 

“No!” 

Shadow Weaver tried to get past Adora to the Stone, but was stopped by the soldier, who wielded her staff with the level of expertise that Shadow Weaver had drilled into her. 

“What have you done?!” 

“Disrupted the flow of magic to the Stone,” Adora replied. “Hordak’s files had a lot of ideas for how to get you away from that thing.” 

“You little fool!” 

Adora’s staff hit Shadow Weaver across the face, knocking the mask away and revealing the deep scars marring her visage. Shadow Weaver hit the ground and scrambled desperately, trying to summon her shadows. With the magic of the Black Garnet out of sync, her shadows refused to come to her. 

“I don’t want to kill you Shadow Weaver,” Adora admitted. “So if you can swear to me on the Runestone that you won’t hurt Catra ever again, that you will never insult her, or belittle her, or threaten her ever again…I will let you live.”

“I – I swear,” Shadow Weaver choked out. 

“Swear what?”

“I swear on the Black Garnet that I will never hurt Catra again.”

A burst of magical and electrical energy shot out from the Stone and hit Shadow Weaver, sending her to the ground, writhing in agony. Adora looked at the Stone in wonder. 

“I don’t think the Stone believed you,” she said, before turning back to look at Shadow Weaver. “Were you lying to me? Or were you lying to yourself?” 

“It wasn’t a lie.”

Another jolt of magical/electrical energy shot from the Stone, and Shadow Weaver cried out sharply. 

“Do you even know how when you’re lying anymore?” Adora asked. “Or are you so used to spinning tales with every breath that you don’t even notice it anymore?” 

Shadow Weaver gasped for breath, unable to understand how the Stone had turned on her so completely. 

Adora pulled a familiar piece of wire from her pocket and crouched down, placing one knee on Shadow Weaver’s chest. 

“I am sorry,” Adora said. “But she won’t come home until it’s safe again and I don’t trust you not to hurt her.” 

~*~

Adora finally allowed herself to slump backwards onto the couch, emotionally exhausted and mentally drained. 

“It’s safe now,” Adora said, looking at Catra hopefully. “We can make it what it should have been, what we were taught it was. Like we always planned, remember?” 

“I remember,” Catra replied. 

“I propose that we all get some much-needed rest before anyone goes anywhere,” Angella said. “Adora, we’ll set up the…spare room for you. I’m certain you could do with some sleep and a hearty breakfast in the morning.”

Adora nodded, liking the sound of being able to close her eyes and sleep. It sounded like exactly what she needed. 

“Glimmer, why don’t you and your friends take Adora to the ‘spare room’,” Angella instructed. “I’ll ask the kitchen staff to make some tea to help us all sleep.”

With that, the Queen left the room, and Catra shared an awkward glance between Bow and Glimmer. Catra stood abruptly and reached for Adora’s hand. The soldier stared at it blankly for a moment before eventually allowing Catra to pull her to her feet.

“C’mon Adora, we’ll show you where you’re staying.” 

Adora followed the Bright Moon trio down the hall, barely taking any of her surroundings in as Catra led the way. If she’d been paying more attention, she’d have noticed the pair of guards stationed outside the doors, the pair having been part of the guards from the Throne Room earlier that evening. 

Catra, Glimmer and Bow ushered her into the room and past the guards before Adora could pay too much attention to them. 

“I’m so tired,” Adora admitted as she stared longingly at the cushion covered bed. 

“Come on, let’s get you comfortable,” Catra said. 

Adora clumsily toed off her shoes and allowed herself to be guided under the covers, assisted by her best friend. She poked at the soft mattress below her curiously. 

“You get used to it,” Catra said. 

Adora was too tired to argue, and her eyes closed almost the instant her head hit the pillow. 

Catra perched herself on the empty space beside Adora, her hand hovering over her friend’s face, longing to touch the soft skin of Adora’s cheek. She sighed, pulling away and instead reached for the blankets on the bed, pulling them up and over Adora’s shoulders. 

“Get some sleep,” she whispered, though could see Adora had nearly fallen all the way into slumber already. “We’ll talk in the morning.” 

Adora muttered an indistinct sound and cuddled further into the soft blankets. 

Catra tilted her head towards the door, gesturing silently for Glimmer and Bow to follow her. The trio quietly exited the room, making sure to dim the lights and closed the door gently behind them. 

Glimmer could no longer contain herself. “Catra, we really need to talk.”

Catra sighed. “I know. Not here though.”

Glimmer held out her hand and Bow and Catra reached for her, the trio teleporting into Catra’s room. Glimmer figured that it would be at least a little easier for the woman to explain everything if she was at least in her own room. 

“Catra…we’re not angry,” Bow started. 

“We aren’t?” Glimmer kind of was. 

“No,” Bow said sharply. “We aren’t. We always understood that there were things from your past that you didn’t want to tell us. That there were things that had hurt you.”

Glimmer sighed and let go of some of the anger she’d been holding. Several of their earliest conversations had specifically said that Catra didn’t need to share all her secrets. Not if they would bring up painful memories. 

“But, I think maybe you should tell us the truth now,” Bow said. 

Catra took a few steps away from her friends and ended up sitting on the window seat, hugging a knee to her chest. She waited a moment for Glimmer and Bow to find their own spaces to sit. Glimmer ended up sitting at the other end of the window seat opposite her, and Bow settled down onto an ottoman that Catra liked to use as a scratching post. 

“Alright, well, I guess it’s not exactly a secret that I wasn’t technically a Horde prisoner,” Catra admitted. “I’m sorry I lied.”

“You were a cadet?” Bow prompted her. 

Catra nodded. “Yeah. Our whole lives, we were trained to become soldiers for the Horde. We grew up hearing about how the Horde would make Etheria united, that we would bring peace to all the lands. For a long time I even believed that.”

“What changed?” Glimmer asked. 

“Shadow Weaver,” Catra spat the name from her tongue. “She was our Commanding Officer. And she hated me.”

“You said once that she’d tortured you,” Glimmer said, remembering the story Catra had initially given to her and Bow. That Catra had escaped from a Horde prison, where she’d been tortured for information by Shadow Weaver. 

“That part was true. Well, not the part about trying to get information from me. She was trying to make me more like Adora,” Catra said. “Her _perfect_ little soldier. But I was never gonna be as good her, so…why bother even trying.”

“What made you decide to leave?” Bow asked curiously. 

Catra gestured to the Mask of She-Ra on her head, it’s golden outline framing her face perfectly. “I found the Mask. And when I ran into you two, I realised I didn’t have to go back there. I didn’t _want_ to go back there. I liked being free.”

“And you and Adora were…?” Bow trailed off. 

Catra sighed and looked out the window, catching sight of her own reflection in the darkened window. 

“We were best friends. And the longer I stayed there, the more I _hated_ her.” 

Glimmer reached out and touched Catra’s ankle softly. Catra flinched at the touch, but eventually settled and allowed her friend to rub gentle circles over her ankle.

“Everything I ever did, it was never as good as Adora. She got better grades, she got better scores in tactical, she was stronger and smarter and…well, she wasn’t faster than me. That was the one thing I was better at,” Catra gloated quietly. “And Shadow Weaver ate that shit up. ‘You should be more like Adora; why can’t you behave more like Adora; why aren’t you obedient like Adora’. And Adora was almost as bad. The older we got, the worse she was. ‘Be on time, obey orders, just behave’. It was infuriating.”

“It’s why, when I left…I never told her that I was She-Ra. I didn’t tell her that I joined the Rebellion. It was nice,” Catra confessed. “For once in my life, no one was comparing me to her.”

“Did you miss her?” Bow asked quietly. 

“Every day,” Catra said. “I remember when you and Glimmer got into that stupid water fight, and all I could think was…I wish Adora was here. Or the first time I met Madame Razz in the woods, and all I wanted to do was tell Adora every crazy thing she said about She-Ra.”

“Do you still hate her?” Glimmer asked. 

“I spent years being so jealous of her,” Catra said. “I wanted what she had. For Shadow Weaver to notice _me_. For Shadow Weaver to praise _me_. And I know it’s messed up, because she was awful, but she was the only parental figure any of us had. But the longer I stayed here in Bright Moon, the more I realised that Shadow Weaver was awful to all of us, including Adora. I couldn’t see it before. Not until I met your mom.”

“Queen Angella?” Bow asked.

Catra nodded. “She was the first authority figure who ever told me ‘good job’, in my whole life. The first time she said it, I waited for the rest of it.”

Glimmer and Bow looked at her in confusion. 

“’Good job, but your time could have been improved’,” Catra said, her voice taking on a mocking tone that her friends didn’t recognise as being an imitation of Shadow Weaver. “’Good job, but you left yourself open to attack’. ‘Good job, but your spelling is abysmal’. That’s the kind of praise I was used to hearing Adora get. It’s the kind of praise I would have killed for growing up. And your mom…she never said anything else. Just ‘good job Catra’.”

Catra swiped a hand across her teary eyes. “The first time she ever said it, I came up here and bawled my eyes out.” 

Bow felt her heart break for his friend, and he wiped away a tear of his own. 

“I think Shadow Weaver wanted to drive us apart,” Catra said. “Our whole lives, she tried to drive a wedge between us. But Adora just kept finding me. We protected each other.”

“You said once that Adora had the chance to protect you…and she didn’t,” Glimmer said, remembering Catra’s original story of being held captive by the Horde.

_”There was a solider stationed there. Her name was Adora. When Shadow Weaver would torture me, she would ignore it. Or she would try and get me to ‘behave’. She would say that Shadow Weaver wouldn’t treat me so badly if I would give them what they wanted. She could have helped me. She could have protected me. She let Shadow Weaver hurt me.”_

“Six months ago, it was how I felt,” Catra admitted. “And, maybe I fantasised about her punching Shadow Weaver a time or two, but, both of us were too terrified of her to actually do it. We were kids, and Shadow Weaver played us both. I spent a long time resenting Adora for things that weren’t her fault. I blamed her for what Shadow Weaver was doing to us.” 

“She sounds awful,” Bow said gently. “Shadow Weaver, I mean. I’m so sorry you grew up like that Catra.” 

“Am I an awful person for being grateful that she’s dead?” Catra asked. 

“No!” Glimmer exclaimed, shifting over so she could pull Catra into a full body hug. 

Catra stiffened in shock, but eventually gave into Glimmer’s tight grip. Her hands came up to rest hesitantly on Glimmer’s back. The Princess ran a soothing hand across Catra’s shoulder blades, ruffling the short fur on her back with soothing motions. 

“No, you’re not an awful person,” Glimmer said. “You were a kid, and you didn’t deserve any of what she did to you. You don’t have to be sad that she’s gone. And you can be grateful that a person who hurt you so terribly won’t ever have that chance again.”

Catra shook slightly in Glimmer’s arms, and she clung tightly to her friend’s shoulder. She heard a rustling sound, and a second later, she was being hugged fiercely from around her back, Bow glomming onto the two women, his strong arms engulfing them both. 

Catra’s tail curled around Bow’s back, and Bow pressed a solid kiss to the top of Catra’s head. 

It had been a long time since anyone had hugged her like this. After a few seconds, she began wriggling, and Bow and Glimmer took that as their cue to back off. Bow couldn’t bring himself to go back to the ottoman and squeezed in on Catra’s other side. 

“The night of Princess Prom, I told Adora I’d go home when it was safe,” Catra said quietly. “I never meant for her to…y’know.” 

Glimmer suddenly looked horrified, clapping her hands over her mouth.

Catra looked at her confused. “What?” 

“I…Oh no…”

“Glimmer, what’s wrong?” Bow asked.

“I might have said something to Adora that night,” Glimmer said. “Something…kind of…awful.” 

~*~

**Two Weeks Ago**

Glimmer was absolutely fuming. Princess Frosta had refused to listen to her very valid concerns about the two Horde soldiers who had infiltrated the Princess Prom. There was absolutely no way that two soldiers from the Horde would keep to the terms of the Prom. It was meant to be a peaceful, neutral zone, and the Horde scum was going to ruin it. 

Glimmer’s eye twitched as she spotted the uniformed Horde soldier coming in from the balcony. What she’d been doing out there, Glimmer neither knew nor cared. But she was going to give this piece of scum a piece of her mind. 

She stomped her way across the room towards the soldier and planted herself in front of the blonde woman. Glimmer despised that she was forced to look up at the woman from her shorter height. 

“Can I help you?” the blonde soldier asked, her voice uncertain. 

“You can tell me what you’re doing here for starters,” Glimmer demanded, poking the soldier in the chest. 

The soldier’s hand brushed Glimmer’s finger away from her and she looked over Glimmer’s shoulder to where Scorpia was dancing with Princess Perfuma. “I’m here escorting my friend,” she replied simply. 

Glimmer scoffed. “Yeah right. Like you don’t have some nefarious plan up your sleeves. I know you Horde types are all alike.” 

The soldier looked down at her sceptically. “There’s nothing nefarious going on,” she said. “Princess Scorpia was invited. I’m not here to start trouble.” 

“A likely story,” Glimmer muttered angrily. 

“Adora, hey, come dance!” Scorpia’s voice came from the dance floor loud and clear. 

Glimmer’s eyes narrowed in pure and utter anger. 

“Adora?!” 

“Uh, yes?” 

“You’re Adora?” 

“Major Adora, yes.”

Glimmer felt rage boil up inside her. 

“You’re the one that refused to help Catra,” she accused. 

“I – what?” 

“You could have helped Catra,” Glimmer repeated. “And you didn’t.”

Adora looked at her in utter confusion. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Yes, you do,” Glimmer insisted. “She told me all about how Shadow Weaver tortured her. How you could have helped her, and you didn’t do anything. You could have kept her safe, but all you cared about was following orders.” 

Adora’s face had lost all colour, and Glimmer took grim satisfaction in apparently hitting some sort of sore spot in the Horde solider. 

“I –“ 

“Save it. Catra’s safe away from the Horde, and you should be ashamed of letting some monster hurt one of the best people I know.” 

Glimmer stalked away, too angry to listen to anything Adora had to say for herself. If she’d looked back, she’d have seen Adora’s ashen face slowly hardening into an expression of pure and utter determination. 

~*~

Catra’s head dropped to her chest and she squeeze her eyes shut as Glimmer’s explanation came to an end. 

“I’m sorry,” Glimmer whispered. “I was just so angry with her.”

“It’s not your fault,” Catra said. “I’m the one who fed you that stupid story to begin with. I should have just been honest from the start.” 

“Catra, you can’t blame this on yourself,” Bow said. 

“Yes, I can,” Catra replied incredulously. “If I’d just told you both the truth from the start…if I’d told Adora the truth, none of this would be happening.”

There was some truth to that statement, but Bow was trying to remain supportive. 

“I should have just told her that I was leaving the Horde. I…I should have asked her to come with me,” Catra said. “I was so caught up in being She-Ra, being special, that I never even thought about what could happen to Adora. She was meant to be safe there.”

The Magicat scoffed at her own choice of words. “Safe,” she repeated, angry at herself. “That’s a joke.” 

Glimmer and Bow shared a look, uncertain what they could say to help Catra and pull her out of her dark thoughts. 

“I guess at least with Shadow Weaver and Hordak out of the way, the Horde might actually turn itself around. And with Adora leading them, we could negotiate some sort of peace treaty,” Catra mused. 

Glimmer kept her mouth shut and glared at Bow who had been about to interject. 

Catra didn’t have to know that there would be zero chance of Adora being allowed back to the Horde anytime soon. 

~*~

Adora was escorted to the Throne Room once more, only this time she wasn’t in chains. The guards beside were on high alert, but the Horde soldier definitely seemed less intimidating in the light of day and dressed in soft blue tones. 

Adora came to stand before Queen Angella, her eyes flickering to the side of the room where Catra stood with the Princess Glimmer and Master Archer Bow on either side of her. 

“Major Adora, thank you for joining us,” Queen Angella began. 

Adora wasn’t entirely certain that she’d had a choice in the matter. “Thank you for your hospitality,” she replied politely. 

“I am certain you are curious as to what the future will bring,” the Queen said. “Are you in a position to negotiate on behalf of the Horde?” 

Adora paused uncertainly. “I…I’m not the highest ranked officer in the Horde your Majesty,” Adora replied. “So, no, I don’t believe I can.”

“Even with the two highest ranking figures being…deposed?” Angella asked.

“I’m only a Major,” Adora said. “The highest-ranking soldier at the moment would be Commander Tror.”

“That is a pity,” Angella commented softly. “I had hoped that you and I might come to terms and agree on the future of the Horde.”

“Well, without Hordak and S-shadow Weaver, we’ll finally be able to be the type of Army they trained us to be,” Adora said confidently. “Hordak was the one who wanted to take over Etheria.” 

“I know that you hold those beliefs Adora, which is why I had hoped that you would be able to agree to the unconditional surrender of the Horde.”

“Surrender?” Adora repeated. “No, we’re going to re-make our Army into what we should have been.”

“To what end Major?” Queen Angella asked. “To wage war in the name of peace?”

“I –“ Adora pulled up short, suddenly uncertain. 

“I understand that the Horde is all you have ever known, Major, but I have lived this war for over three decades now,” Angella said. “It is time for the Horde to come to an end.” 

“Please, give me a chance to convince Commander Tror to see that we don’t have to destroy villages to unite Etheria,” Adora begged. 

“Major, you still don’t seem to grasp that Etheria is divided _because_ of the Horde. While we may have separate Kingdoms, it is because people value different things. People choose to live in a Kingdom that shares their values, and they can come and go from one Kingdom to the next as they please,” Angella explained. “You speak of uniting Etheria, but Major, Etheria was at peace for centuries before the Horde came to power.”

Adora stood silently for a moment, struggling to understand Angella’s words. Everything she had ever known was the Horde. Her one aim in life had been to bring the Horde to glory by uniting Etheria. And even after coming to the understanding that Hordak had been trying to conquer Etheria, Adora still couldn’t let go on the Horde propaganda that had been drummed into her from her infancy. 

“I understand you cannot offer the Horde’s surrender Major, but I would like to ask you for yours,” Angella said. “Surrender yourself to Bright Moon and I promise that you will be treated with dignity.”

Adora struggled to speak, and her mind was racing in too many directions to come to a decision. 

“Adora…Etheria doesn’t need to be united under one ruler,” Catra said, walking towards her friend. “The Princesses aren’t what we were told they were.” 

“But…Catra, what’s our purpose if we’re not uniting Etheria?” Adora asked desperately. 

Catra took Adora’s hand in her own. “We don’t have to have a purpose,” she said softly. 

Adora’s eyes narrowed in disbelief. “That doesn’t seem right.” 

Catra gave a broken laugh. “I didn’t believe it either,” she admitted. “But it’s true. We can be free from fighting, free of the war. We can be happy.” 

“I don’t know what that even means,” Adora said. 

Catra brought her hand up to Adora’s face, and tugged Adora’s head down, bumping their foreheads together as they used to do when they were kids. Adora closed her eyes involuntarily, her shoulders releasing some of the anxiety she’d been holding. 

“It means that we can be safe,” Catra said softly. 

“Safe?” Adora asked hopefully. 

Catra smiled and reached out to tuck a strand of Adora’s hair behind her ears. 

“Yeah. We can finally keep each other safe.”

“I thought you didn’t want that…with me.” 

“I didn’t want that inside the Horde,” Catra corrected her. “Adora, I messed up and I’m sorry. I thought you would be safe there, without me. I was selfish and jealous, and I wanted to the special one for once in our lives.”

“You _are_ special,” Adora swore. “You always have been.” 

“I felt worthless next to you,” Catra confessed. 

Adora pulled back from her, mortified and aching. “Catra –“ 

“It wasn’t your fault,” Catra said. “I can finally see that now.” 

“I’m sorry,” Adora whispered. 

“Shadow Weaver messed both of us up,” Catra said. “All her little digs, and all her back-handed compliments were meant to drive us apart. And I nearly let her do it. Adora, please, I can’t bear to lose you. Please say you’ll surrender. You’ll be safe. I promise.”

Adora stared at her friend a moment longer, before she finally gave a single nod. “Okay.”

Catra breathed a sigh of relief and hugged Adora tightly. They clung to one another for a moment, before Adora reluctantly pulled back. 

The soldier went to one knee and bowed her head. 

“I wish to surrender myself to Bright Moon.” 

~*~

**Three Months Later**

It hadn’t taken long for the Horde to agree to surrender to the Rebellion. With both Hordak and Shadow Weaver dead, there was very little point in carrying on Hordak’s mission. Commander Tror had seemed glad to sign the terms of surrender and had given over command of the Fright Zone to Bright Moon. Anyone under the age of eighteen had been granted a full pardon and had been quickly housed in different parts of Etheria. The younger cadets had been taken into families, being given an opportunity to learn and grow as normal children, rather than as tools of a war.

For the soldiers over eighteen, those who had surrendered were being placed on trial to be judged for their actions under the commands of the Horde. Many of the soldiers had been sentenced to ‘community service’, helping to rebuild the towns and villages that they had helped to destroy. 

For higher ranking soldiers, their punishments ranged from heavy labour to imprisonment, with a view for rehabilitation rather than punishment. Every Horde soldier was promised an education that would be free from the Horde’s rigorous punishments, and geared towards allowing the newly made civilians to decide for themselves if the Horde had been good for Etheria or not. 

So far, the answer to the question seemed to mostly swing towards ‘not’.

Adora slowly adjusted to life in Bright Moon, a life where she didn’t need to get up in the early morning hours to train for a war that was finally over. A life where she got to see Catra every day, and they were slowly coming to terms with the manipulations their guardian had put them through. Some days were still hard, but for the most part, they were rebuilding their friendship from the ground up. 

Some of the conversations they’d needed to have had been draining, but ultimately necessary. Catra had already been coming to the realisation that Shadow Weaver had been awful to Adora in her own cruel ways, even though that cruelty hadn’t extended to physical violence. And Adora was coming to terms with the idea that Catra had been hurt physically by Shadow Weaver, sometimes in relation for actions that Adora had taken. 

Queen Angella had brought in Princess Perfuma to provide the pair with spiritual and emotional guidance, both individually and together. 

It was hard, Catra thought, to actually say out loud some of the awful things that had happened during her childhood. It was harder still to admit that some of the awful things that had happened to her were a direct result of Adora’s actions. 

But as Perfuma would tell them, “even if you had both behaved perfectly, Shadow Weaver would have found any excuse to hurt you and turn you against each other.” 

Catra knew that was true, but seeing Adora’s expressions any time Catra confessed to being punished for Adora’s missteps was heart-breaking. 

On the flip side, Catra was also starting to understand that Adora had been punished in different and creative ways that she hadn’t noticed either. Extra training that Catra had been jealous of had been a way to keep control of Adora’s actions and whereabouts, moulding her into obedience under Shadow Weaver’s back-handed compliments. Their guardian would slowly shred Adora into pieces only to build her back up again in whatever shape Shadow Weaver wanted. 

While some of the sessions would leave the ex-Horde members seeking space from each other, there were others, like today’s, that found them huddling together a deeper understanding of one another building between them. 

“Do you think we’ll ever be free of her?” Catra asked, as they looked out at the view from the Moonstone Tower. Below them, Bright Moon was cast in shadows of the fading daylight, dusk falling slowly over the city. 

“I hope so,” Adora said. “Even if it’s years from now, as long as we can wake up and just be us…well, that’ll be nice.” 

“Do you think about it?” 

“What? Being free of her?” 

“No…our future,” Catra clarified. 

Adora nodded. “I’m starting to.” 

Catra swallowed, a little nervous. “What do you think about?” 

The blonde breathed out softly and took a moment to gather her thoughts. “Sometimes it’s just simple stuff, you know. Bow talked about his dad’s library…I’d like to go there one day. And Queen Angella talked about Mystacor, and that sounds like a nice place to spend some time. I think about exploring Etheria and seeing what else is out there. That could be fun, don’t you think? Exploring the planet.”

Catra nodded sadly. “Yeah, you’d have a great time doing that.”

Adora turned to look at her, eyes soft. “You wouldn’t want to come with me?” 

“Me?” 

“Well, yeah. I wouldn’t want to go without you,” Adora said. 

“Really?” 

Adora bumped her head against Catra’s softly. “Really.”

Catra closed her eyes, breathing in Adora’s familiar scent. There was something about being together again that made Catra crave the closeness they had as kids. Only this was different. Back in the Horde, she’d never really known what to do with these feelings. 

Now?

Well…

She tilted her head slightly and brought her lips to Adora’s, pressing a gentle kiss; testing, tasting. Adora breathed in nervously, her lips parting as they gently explored one another. Catra’s heart hammered as the kiss slowly tapered off, the girls parting reluctantly from one another. 

“I wouldn’t want to go without you either,” Catra confessed. “Never again.”

“Promise?” 

“I promise.” 

**END**

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! There are some amazing Magicatra AU works on this site, which you can usually find using the Magicatra or Horde Adora tags. Check out some of the amazing stories that inspired me to write this one.
> 
> The general insanity that inspired this story was the image of Horde Adora on her knees in the Throne Room yelling "I made it safe for you" as Catra walked away from her, but I couldn't bring myself to have it be that angsty. 
> 
> I had a lot of fun thinking about the role reversal AU, but hadn't seen one where Catra was just like...'welp, I'm just not gonna tell Adora I joined the Rebellion, I'm not going to ask her to come with me...I'm having too much fun being the special one, I'll just enjoy it for a while'. And thus, this story was born.


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